Myth in Midnight’s Children

However, writers of Rushdie’s generation have adopted a parodic stance towards their mythic material, perhaps for the reasons I have discussed above. It is not possible for Rushdie, like Saleema Sinai, to participate in the “myth-laden universe” without hesitation. Rushdie’s irreverent use of myth has earned him the reputation of a trickster. Something of an imposter. Do you agree? Actually, he is not.

But !et us here examine his use of the Ganeshs myth and see for ourselves. As we found out earlier, the howler about Ganesha was Saleem’s not Rushdie’s and was intended to deflate Saleem’s belief in his erudition. Saleem uses other Indian allusions with the same rebellious careless nonchalance. His play on Padma’s name, for instance irritates her. For he chooses to interpret her name nod though its mythological associations but through its everyday, scatological meaning. The central myth holding the novel together is the myth of Shiva. Rushdie evokes Shiva in his destructive avatar, born to banish evil from the world.

In, Rushdie’s novel, Shiva gradually evolves into an evil force whose sole motive is to destroy the hero Saleem for robbing him of his real parents. Only through some far fetched association can one link Shiva’s actions as revenge for the evils of emergency. Rushdie reinterprets the Shiva myth like all others as it suits him: eternally playing on the meaning of words; referring to the original association of the myth; and turning it upside down

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3 Responses

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